EVENDALE, Ohio - Korean Air has selected the GEnx engine to power its order for 10 firm, 10 option Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
The value of the firm engine order is more than $240 million (USD). Engine deliveries begin in 2009.
"By any measure, Korean Air is a key global player in commercial aviation," said Scott Donnelly, President of GE - Aviation. "It is a both a world-leading passenger and cargo carrier, and GE is thrilled Korean Air has selected the GEnx, one of the fastest-selling jet engines in aviation."
"We are pleased to announce this milestone -- a renewed partnership with GE," said Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air. "GE's proven reliability and efficiency, in addition to the cost advantages of the new engine, were exactly what Korean Air was seeking in our search for an engine supplier."
With the Korean Air selection, GEnx engines to date have been selected to power 94 firm Boeing 787 aircraft orders. In total, the new GEnx engine has been selected to power more than 220 aircraft. Those GEnx orders are valued at more than $6 billion.
The GEnx is based on the architecture of the highly successful GE90. It will succeed the CF6 engine family, which is GE's most reliable and best-selling engine on wide-body aircraft.
The GEnx provides significantly better fuel burn and payload performance than GE's CF6 engines. It is the world's only jet engine with a front fan case and fan blades made of composites, which provides for greater engine durability, weight reduction and lower operating costs. The fan blades will utilize GE90 composite technology that has performed remarkably well on GE90 engines, with no in-service issues for almost a decade. The GEnx will operate with 18 fan blades (50 percent fewer than the CF6) at noise levels lower than any large GE commercial engine currently in service. The GEnx also features a new combustor for efficient fuel mixing before ignition, resulting in significantly lower NOx levels.
The GEnx is part of GE's "ecomagination" product portfolio--GE's commitment to develop new, cost-effective technologies that enhance customers' environmental and operating performance.
GE - Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is one of the world's leading manufacturers of jet engines for civil and military aircraft. GE also is a world-leading provider of maintenance and support services for jet engines. Visit GE - Aviation at www.ge.com/aviation.
Korean Air, with a fleet of 116 aircraft, is one of the world's top 20 airlines and operates almost 400 passenger flights per day to 90 cities in 31 countries. It is a founding member of SkyTeam, the global airlines alliance - partnering AeroMexico, Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM and Northwest Airlines to provide customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. More on Korean Air's programs, routes, frequency and partners is available at www.koreanair.com.